On The Kindness Of Strangers and A Crochet Cushion Cover TaDa.

When a package with one of these labels on it arrives you know there's going to be something special inside. This package though was extra-special as I hadn't actually ordered anything from The Linen Cat...

...Inside were not one, but two beautiful turquoise birds. I'd merely commented on Beth's blog (a couple of time I admit) as to how much I liked the look of her new turquoise birds, and she sent me two, just out of the kindess of her heart.

They're lovely, I know it's an overused word, but in this case I can't think of a better one. It was lovely of Beth too to send me them. Blogging has opened my eyes not only to the talent and creativeness of people I've never met but also to their kindness, this little package certainly made me very happy.

I've hung them on the mantlepiece, they're perfect there.

While in the living room I took some photos of my finally finished round crochet cushion cover...
Here are the two sides before being joined together. I introduced three extra colours in the second side (on the left) and this is the side I now prefer though it's good to have a choice!

Talking of choices, I need to decide where to put it...
On the armchair...

...the green sofa...

...or the purple sofa...

...the purple sofa it is! (Yes, it's not actually purple, the throws hide fading red upholstery which I have fallen out of love with, at some point I'll look into getting fitted covers made for it and the armchair (also a faded red with gold roses - lovely!)). N doesn't like the cushion there though, it's in the way of him reaching his toys on the bookcase so he flings it off onto the floor. No appreciation of the hours of crocheting it took me to make it! The pattern is based on the flat circle used by Lucy @ Attic 24 for her crochet bird. I just kept going and made the circle 16" in diameter (only increasing every second row after about the tenth row so that it would start to curl up round the cushion pad) and bought an 18" feather pad on ebay to fill it.

On the mantlepice: the ends.

Sparrows were twittering away on the bush outside the window while I was busy in the living room photographing my sofas. You've no idea the amount of tidying up that went on before taking even these carefully edited pictures! Sparrows have better things to do.

Well, that was yesterday. This morning we had a little fall of very fine snow, it was just like icing sugar being dusted from the sky. Earlier in the week I did manage to start tidying the garden and uncovered my dragonflies which had been hidden behind dead brown foliage, now they're out on display again and this one looked particularly pretty with the snow dust.

It's the afternoon now and the sun has made it through the mist and melted all the frost. Sunny days are here again!